Lore Curator's Public Corner

[blue_penguin]

I'm curious about druid archers. From the Masters of the Wild book, pg. 9:

"Sadly, [elves] must set aside their racial training in the longsword, rapier, and bow; a druid who uses any of those weapons loses all her druid powers for 24 hours."

Why's that? Is it because the arrows have metal on them? What if the druid replaces them with another material?

[kleomenes]

Who is the current ruler of Elturel?

[kleomenes]

I found the Cowled Wizards quotes for you. Book three of Lands of Intrigue has the main information (page 8), a quote of which mentions secrecy below:

The Cowled Wizards were originally created by Alisar of Esmeltaran over a century ago to preserve magical lore in a realm that might benefit from this knowledge despite the peoples’ fears. The wizards saw themselves as saviors of the Art and as agents of Azuth and Deneir. Moving underground, they became librarians of lore and teachers to those with potential. The Cowled Wizards also kept an eye on foreign wizards passing through Amn, keeping rogue wizards in line to protect Amnians and the Cowled Wizards’ secrecy.

Page 8 of book 2 has the following quote, indicating that the group is outlawed and, indeed, membership of it is something which can blackmail even a member of the Council of Six (although later on they tolerate a member as a "mole" in the organisation, the newest Pommarch Tyrda Q'Helvor):

Meisarch Thyze Selemchant (deceased; CN hm W12): The first Meisarch and the founder of the Council, Thayze Selemchant became a petty, jaded laggard once he gained power. His debauched lifestyle hearkened back to the days of the emirs of the Calimshan Empire in Amin. He was also a high-ranked member of the outlawed Cowled Wizards, though his duplicity cost him when his secret was revealed. He died during a powerplay involving two other Council members whom he was blackmailing. Some within the Council House swear that Thayze still walks—as a ghost!

There are other references to the Cowled Wizards to describe their clandestine nature.

[Lazarus]

Do you know the year Thieve's guild called Astorians were enstablished in Teziir and what would their status be during the current year or past years of this server timeline. I recall Night Masks in Westgate were formed 1353, which is 2 years from now and the two guilds are main rivals right?

[NeonAvenger]

Are the crafting facilities in Baldur's Gate that look publicly available actually publicly available?

Specifically I'm referring to the ones upstairs at Sorcerous Sundries and the Temple of Gond.
I've always assumed that the ones at Sundries are available and the Gondian ones are probably available to the congregation but would like a clear answer if it's possible.

[NeonAvenger]

A question on language:
Is there a "Language of Scholars"?
Specifically I'm trying to write some notes about alchemy but alchemy is filled with Latin terms that probably aren't quite right for the setting.
Is there a language in the Realms that fills a similar role to that which Latin did?

[Maecius]

A question on language:
Is there a "Language of Scholars"?
Specifically I'm trying to write some notes about alchemy but alchemy is filled with Latin terms that probably aren't quite right for the setting.
Is there a language in the Realms that fills a similar role to that which Latin did?

A lot of notes on magic and science are written in draconic:

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Draconic_language

Note that "magic" itself isn't a draconic language. You can't write in the language of magic or talk in the language of magic without, you know, a spell happening. Draconic is just the language most-often used to write about magic.

Some languages that might take the place of "Latin" could include:

Thorass, or "Auld Common," the ancient language on which Common is based on (Common being the trade tongue much of the world uses for cross-cultural dialogue, perhaps most equivalent to English today and French before that): http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Thorass_language

Loross, of "noble Netherese," the language spoken by the sorcerers of Netheril*: http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Loross

*Worth noting that "Netherese" is actually the language of the commoners of old Netheril, not the noble wizard class. Both are considered "dead languages" though.